Comet Coach Clay Pelham

HDN: What are you expecting when you coach against Hillsdale's Marc Lemerand Friday night?

Pelham: He is a call-play-at-the-line coach. They run a spread look. They have for some time now. They are well-disciplined. They know what they are supposed to do.

HDN: Has it taken some time for Jonesville to get to the point where you wanted to play Hillsdale?

Pelham: For the last ten years it has been talked about. A lot of people are calling it a rivalry. Well, can you have a rivalry when you haven't played for 43 years? Maybe it will develop. I was part of the Hudson versus Hillsdale rivalry, which can get ugly at times. But this will be settled by the two teams. It's kids playing a football game.

HDN: Which Jonesville players will be key in getting a victory against Hillsdale?

Pelham: Our offensive and defensive lines, they have to play well - Coty Barnett, Austin Howard, Johnathon Rodriguez, those kind of guys. We have to play better on both sides of the ball if we are going to do anything. We have a team mentality. When I was a junior varsity coach, I would only send in team stats. That is what this system is all about.

HDN: You cannot go see Hillsdale play, but I imagine you are watching a lot of film.

Pelham: We know what is going on. As long as Marc has been there, they have been successful. But we need to focus on things like blocking and tackling, the simple parts of the game.

HDN: You have seen a lot of improvement in your Jonesville football program. How have you made that happen?

Pelham: When we came in, Joshua Linden and I, that was about five years ago. We put in a full t program. It's a slow process. You've got to work on the younger kids. That is what Hudson has done. That's what we are trying to do. We are not trying to be Hudson. We want to have our own success. It is not an easy process.

HDN: Do you feel like you are in the midst of a special opportunity with the seniors you have?

Pelham: Yeah, but if you look at our lineup you'll see it's split down the middle. Also, look at the success of the JV. They are one of the meanest groups I have ever seen. It shows you do not have to have the most talent to win games. The sophomores we brought up to varsity have created a whole new atmosphere this week at practice.

HDN: Do you think Jonesville vs. Hillsdale is just another game? or is it something more?

Pelham: Within the community, it is obviously more than a game. As coaches, we need to concentrate on what's going on between the lines. There has been a lot of talk about what this means and who will be there. I don't even care about that. I just want to win a football game.

Page 2 of 2 - HDN: Which Hillsdale players will you be paying special attention to?

Pelham: The Wilcox kid, their quarterback, Petersen, he has really come on strong, the Bernard kid, and the Boardman kid. They have got some athletes. We read the paper. A lot of our kids know them. You end up already knowing who they are. Like any game, they have players we will pay special attention to.